NBA Teams Average 14.4 Back-To-Backs In 2025/26
Five NBA teams will play a league-high 16 back-to-back sets during the 2025/26 regular season, while six clubs will have just 13 instances of back-to-back games on their schedules. The remaining 19 teams will play either 14 or 15 back-to-backs.
[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Schedules By Team]
Those totals – along with an overall average of 14.4 back-to-backs per team – are about what we’ve come to expect in recent years.
Prior to the COVID-shortened seasons of 2019/20 and ’20/21, the NBA’s regular season consisted of 177 days, and the league had made a concerted effort to reduce instances of back-to-backs. When the league announced its initial schedule in ’19/20, its press release boasted that teams were averaging a record-low 12.4 back-to-backs that season, marking the fifth straight year in which that number had reached an all-time low.
However, since 2021/22, NBA regular seasons have spanned just 174 days, making it a little more difficult for schedule-makers to avoid back-to-back sets. The average number of back-to-backs per team is still well below where it once was (teams averaged 19.3 in 2024/25), but it’s no longer at a record low.
Here are the back-to-backs by team in 2025/26:
- Charlotte Hornets: 16
Denver Nuggets: 16
Philadelphia 76ers: 16
Phoenix Suns: 16
Washington Wizards: 16 - Golden State Warriors: 15
Los Angeles Clippers: 15
Miami Heat: 15
New Orleans Pelicans: 15
Portland Trail Blazers: 15
Toronto Raptors: 15
Utah Jazz: 15 - Brooklyn Nets: 14
Cleveland Cavaliers: 14
Dallas Mavericks: 14
Detroit Pistons: 14
Houston Rockets: 14
Los Angeles Lakers: 14
Memphis Grizzlies: 14
Milwaukee Bucks: 14
New York Knicks: 14
Orlando Magic: 14
Sacramento Kings: 14
San Antonio Spurs: 14 - Atlanta Hawks: 13
Boston Celtics: 13
Chicago Bulls: 13
Indiana Pacers: 13
Minnesota Timberwolves: 13
Oklahoma City Thunder: 13
Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, Thunder Get Most Nationally Televised Games For 2025/26
Having gone from two national broadcasting partners (ABC/ESPN and TNT) to three (ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime) ahead of the 2025/26 season, the NBA’s schedule will feature a significant increase in nationally televised games.
When the league unveiled its full regular season schedule on Thursday, it announced 237 nationally televised regular season matchups, along with the seven knockout round NBA Cup games whose participants aren’t yet known, for a total of 244 contests.
As Colin Salao of Front Office Sports writes in a subscriber story, the total number of nationally televised games is up by more than 40% from last season, when the league’s partners nationally broadcasted a total of 172 games.
Salao also points out that beginning in the middle of the season, when the NFL schedule starts winding down, the NBA will have national games every day of the week: Peacock on Monday; NBC/Peacock on Tuesday; ESPN on Wednesday; Amazon on Thursday; Amazon and ESPN on Friday; Amazon and ABC on Saturday; and ABC, NBC, and Peacock on Sunday.
Every team will be featured at least twice on the national TV broadcast schedule, with the Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, and defending champion Thunder leading the way with 34 appearances apiece.
Here’s the full breakdown of nationally televised games by team:
- Golden State Warriors: 34
- Los Angeles Lakers: 34
- New York Knicks: 34
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 34
- Houston Rockets: 28
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 28
- Denver Nuggets: 26
- Boston Celtics: 25
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 24
- Dallas Mavericks: 23
- San Antonio Spurs: 22
- Los Angeles Clippers: 21
- Milwaukee Bucks: 18
- Detroit Pistons: 16
- Orlando Magic: 14
- Philadelphia 76ers: 14
- Atlanta Hawks: 13
- Memphis Grizzlies: 10
- Indiana Pacers: 9
- Phoenix Suns: 9
- Sacramento Kings: 9
- Portland Trail Blazers: 8
- Miami Heat: 5
- Charlotte Hornets: 3
- Chicago Bulls: 3
- Brooklyn Nets: 2
- New Orleans Pelicans: 2
- Toronto Raptors: 2
- Utah Jazz: 2
- Washington Wizards: 2
Since nationally televised matchups are subject to change, there’s no guarantee that every team will ultimately end up being featured multiple times on the national stage.
As Salao points out, all 30 clubs showed up at least once on the national broadcast schedule initially announced for 2024/25, but the Wizards didn’t get any nationally televised games after having their lone contest replaced by a showdown between Cleveland and Oklahoma City.
Additionally, not every team this season will have a game aired on a traditional, non-streaming network — the only games featuring the Raptors or Wizards will air on either Peacock or Amazon Prime.
Celtics’ Payton Pritchard To Start In 2025/26?
Celtics guard Payton Pritchard won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2024/25 after averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists on .472/.407/.845 shooting in 80 games last season (28.4 MPG). Last week, he discussed his confidence in the team’s ability to remain competitive and his excitement for a larger role in 2025/26.
After trading Jrue Holiday to Portland, Boston intends to promote Pritchard to the starting lineup for the upcoming season, Grant Afseth reports for FastbreakJournal.com.
That means Anfernee Simons — whom the Celtics acquired for Holiday and have reportedly been trying to trade — will essentially slide into Pritchard’s old role as a spark-plug scorer off the bench, assuming he’s still on the roster when the season tips off in October.
As Afseth notes, Pritchard only started three games last season, but he put up big numbers in those contests, averaging 21.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 7.3 APG in 35.1 MPG.
According to Afseth, Boston believes the former 26th overall pick has “earned the starting job through years of steady development.” Pritchard is entering his sixth season with the Celtics.
While Simons is a more proven offensive player than Pritchard, he’s also a lesser defender. And given Simons’ tenuous spot on the roster — he’s on an expiring $27.7MM contract, whereas Pritchard is in the second season of a four-year, $30MM rookie scale extension — it makes sense from both a team-building and continuity perspective to give Pritchard the starting nod.
International Notes: Harrison, Lauvergne, Silva, Toscano-Anderson
Seven-year NBA veteran Shaquille Harrison has signed a one-year contract extension with ASVEL Basket, the French team announced in a press release.
Known for his defense, Harrison appeared in 183 regular season contests with seven different NBA teams, last suiting up for Memphis on a 10-day deal during the 2023/24 campaign. The 31-year-old guard played in 63 total games with ASVEL last season, averaging 5.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 17.0 minutes per contest.
ASVEL competes in France’s top domestic league — the LNB Élite — as well as the EuroLeague. The club went 23-7 during the LNB Élite regular season, losing in the semifinals of the playoffs, but just 13-21 in EuroLeague action.
Here are a few more international notes:
- Harrison was one of several former NBA players on ASVEL Basket’s roster in ’24/25. Another was center Joffrey Lauvergne, who has spent the past three seasons with the team in his native France. Although he’s coming off a productive season, ASVEL recently announced that Lauvergne will not return in ’25/26 (link to press release). The 33-year-old was a second-round pick back in 2013 and spent four seasons in the NBA, last playing for San Antonio in ’17/18.
- Chris Silva has signed a one-year deal with Greece’s AEK BC, per the team. The African big man is a four-year NBA veteran who spent last season in Israel with Bnei Herzliya. Former Nets second-rounder RaiQuan Gray will also return to AEK in ’25/26, Eurohoops notes.
- Italian team Pallacanestro Trieste has reportedly reached an agreement with free agent wing Juan Toscano-Anderson, according to Kevin Martorano of Sportando, who cites a report from Il Piccolo. Toscano-Anderson, 32, won a title with Golden State in 2022 and last played in the NBA for Sacramento in ’23/24. He spent all of last season in the NBA G League with the Mexico City Capitanes.
Heat Notes: K. Jones, Herro, Johnson, Rotation, Schedule
Free agent center Kai Jones is working out for the Heat this week and Miami could use depth in the middle. However, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel is skeptical the former first-round pick will make the Heat’s roster — assuming he’s offered a contract, which would likely be non-guaranteed.
As Winderman explains, due to their luxury tax situation (they’re currently slightly over the tax line), the Heat are “far more likely” to add a big man on a two-way contract than carry a 15th player on a standard deal to open the season, and Jones no longer has two-way eligibility. It’s also not unusual for free agents to work out for the Heat in the summer, but many of those auditions occur privately, Winderman writes.
Jones has reportedly drawn serious interest from the Italian team Virtus Bologna, which could offer him guaranteed money and a more significant role than Miami, so it’s unclear if a non-guaranteed training camp contract would appeal to the 24-year-old.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Between October 1 and the start of the regular season, Tyler Herro will be eligible for a contract extension that could pay him up to $149.7MM over three years. De’Aaron Fox (four years, maximum salary) and Mikal Bridges (four years, $150MM) recently signed veteran extensions and a scout who spoke to Winderman believes that, in a vacuum, Herro is the best of the three players. While locking in a core duo of Bam Adebayo and Herro with no assurances of short- or long-term team success could be costly for the Heat, particularly given Herro’s defensive limitations, waiting until next offseason could also be risky for both sides. Winderman points out that Herro would be eligible for an even more lucrative deal at that point and suggests Herro and the Heat might need to compromise to reach an agreement this fall.
- Haywood Highsmith‘s knee injury may open rotation minutes for second-year forward Keshad Johnson, at least during the preseason, Winderman adds in the same story. Johnson rarely played for the Heat as a rookie in 2024/25, having spent most of the season in the G League. It’s unclear if Highsmith will be available for the start of the regular season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn right meniscus.
- In a separate mailbag, Winderman states that head coach Erik Spoelstra is unlikely to make major lineup decisions based on how players perform during the Heat’s six-game preseason slate. That’s not to say training camp won’t be important — Winderman just thinks practices will likely be weighed more heavily than the exhibition games.
- Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald shares his takeaways from the Heat’s schedule, which was released this afternoon along with every other team. Miami will only be featured in five nationally televised games in ’25/26 — only seven teams have fewer national TV games, Chiang notes.
Pistons Sign Javonte Green To One-Year Deal
August 14: Green has signed his one-year contract with the Pistons, according to the official transactions log at NBA.com.
August 11: The Pistons are set to sign free agent swingman Javonte Green, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides are finalizing an agreement on a one-year deal.
Green, 32, began his professional career overseas after going undrafted out of Radford in 2015, but eventually earned a look in the NBA and has since established himself as a rotation player for a handful of teams. Since 2019, he has made 263 regular season appearances for the Celtics, Bulls, Pelicans, and Cavaliers, averaging 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game.
Known primarily for his defensive ability and versatility, Green played in New Orleans and Cleveland in 2024/25. He made 18 starts and 50 total appearances for the injury-plagued Pelicans before being bought out in order to sign with the East-leading Cavs. In total, he averaged 5.1 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 18.5 MPG across 68 outings for the two teams, with a shooting line of .429/.326/.724.
Charania’s report doesn’t include any additional details on Green’s deal with Detroit beyond the fact that it will be a one-year contract, so it’s unclear whether or not it will be guaranteed. It’s a safe bet it will be worth the minimum salary.
The Pistons are currently only carrying 13 players on standard contracts, so even if Green’s deal isn’t fully guaranteed from day one, he should have a clear path to earning a spot on the 15-man regular season roster this fall.
Lakers To Unveil Pat Riley Statue On Feb. 22
The Lakers will honor legendary former coach Pat Riley with a statue that will be unveiled on February 22 against longtime rival Boston, according to a report from The Associated Press.
Riley spent five-plus seasons with the Lakers during his nine-year playing career, winning a championship as a role player during the 1971/72 campaign, the same season in which Los Angeles set the NBA record for longest winning streak at 33 consecutive games. After his playing days ended, he became a broadcaster for the Lakers and an assistant coach prior to becoming head coach in 1981/82.
Riley’s head coaching stint with the Lakers — which covered nine seasons and ended in ’89/90 — was one of the most successful runs of any coach in league history. During the “Showtime” era under Riley, the Lakers won four championships and made seven total NBA Finals appearances. Los Angeles won at least 50 games every year with Riley at the helm, crossing the 60-win threshold five times.
Overall, Riley compiled a 533-194 regular season record (.733 winning percentage) as the Lakers’ coach and went 102-47 (.685) during the playoffs.
Riley, who added another head coaching ring to his collection with Miami in 2006, has been the Heat‘s president and top basketball executive for the past 30 years. The Heat named their home court after the 80-year-old last October.
Riley will be the eighth Lakers legend to be honored with a statue outside the team’s arena, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal and broadcaster Chick Hearn.
Western Notes: Wolves, Hyland, Dundon, Durant, Suns
Due to their proximity to the second tax apron, the Timberwolves may only carry 14 players on standard contracts to open the 2025/26 season, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. While Minnesota has checked in on several free agent guards, including Cameron Payne, Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet, all signs point to Bones Hyland being the frontrunner for the 14th spot, Krawczynski reports.
Hyland signed a two-way contract with the Wolves last season, appearing in four games. As Krawczynski notes, Hyland was a former first-round pick by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.
While breaking down the roster, Krawczynski writes that Johnny Juzang — who agreed to a training camp deal with the Wolves — is a long shot to make the cut but that Luka Garza forced his way onto the team with similar odds last year. Young players like Jaylen Clark, Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. are expected to have larger roles this season, Krawczynski adds.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- A group led by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon reached an agreement on Wednesday to buy the Trail Blazers. That group includes Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global who is married to Dr. Sejal Hathi, the head of Oregon Health Authority, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report writes (Substack subscriber link). The group’s local connection through Tyle is one of a few reasons why it stood out among the bidders, per Highkin.
- After suggesting in a recent podcast that the Rockets might be reluctant to sign Kevin Durant to a maximum-salary extension, Tim MacMahon said on an NBA Today appearance that there isn’t any urgency to complete a multiyear agreement. MacMahon said the Rockets have other matters to attend to, including an extension for Tari Eason. “Kevin Durant is their best player, he’s not necessarily their priority,” MacMahon said. “That’s not an insult to him, their priority is making sure they have as long of a runway as possible while trying to cash in on this window that they created by getting Kevin Durant.“
- Plenty of “ifs” stand in the way of the Suns making the playoffs, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports writes. While they could be a surprise team if things break the right way, Bourguet has them just on the outside looking in of the Western Conference playoff picture for next season, sitting at No. 11 in his conference power rankings. The Suns basically remade their depth after trading away Durant and waiving Bradley Beal, adding the likes of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams via trades.
2025/26 NBA Schedules By Team
The NBA announced its complete 2025/26 regular season schedule on Thursday.
The 80th NBA regular season tips off on October 21 with matchups between the Thunder and Rockets, and Warriors and Lakers. The regular season concludes on April 12.
The play-in tournament will take place on April 14, 15 and 17. Meanwhile, each team has two unassigned games due to the in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup 2025, with those games to be played between Dec. 9-15.
Listed below are the links to every team’s full 2025/26 schedule, organized by conference and division. The full team-by-team schedules can be viewed in a single document here, and here is a link to the full schedule sorted by date.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
And-Ones: Free Agents, 2026 Draft, Next Summer, 2024 Re-Draft
While most of the top free agents of the summer class of 2025 have either re-signed or joined new teams, there are still some potential impact role players on the market outside of the well-reported restricted free agent group.
Al Horford, Russell Westbrook and Amir Coffey sit atop Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report‘s list of best-available low-cost free agents. Horford has been heavily linked to the Warriors (as have Pincus’s fifth- and sixth-ranked free agents in Gary Payton II and De’Anthony Melton) and reporting has strongly suggested he’ll ultimately end up there once the Jonathan Kuminga situation is resolved.
Westbrook and the Kings have been frequently connected too, but reporting has suggested Sacramento might not have a spot for the former MVP if Malik Monk and/or Devin Carter aren’t traded, so it’s unclear where Westbrook would end up if the Kings decide they don’t have room in their backcourt.
As for Coffey and Pincus’s No. 4-ranked player Ben Simmons, there have been fewer definitive reports linking them to one team or another. Simmons has been connected to the Kings, Suns, Knicks and Celtics, but there hasn’t been much media traction involving Coffey.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Ahead of the 2025/26 collegiate season, the 2026 NBA draft class looks top-heavy, with three players in A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson who are in contention to be selected No. 1 overall, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report writes. Karim Lopez of the NBL’s New Zealand Breakers is Wasserman’s highest-ranked international prospect in the August update of his top-50 list, while Jayden Quaintance of Kentucky is the highest-ranked returning player (No. 4 overall) after he started 24 games for Arizona State in his age-17 season.
- Looking ahead to next offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks details the headlines that should dominate the news cycle, including the futures of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. James will be an unrestricted free agent next year, and it’s unclear whether he will finish his career with the Lakers. Meanwhile, Curry, Jokic and Antetokounmpo could all be free agents in 2027 if they don’t sign extensions before then.
- One year removed from the 2024 draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic re-drafted his top 20 from last year’s rookies. Zaccharie Risacher had a strong rookie season, but slipped from No. 1 to 2 in Vecenie’s re-draft, with 2024/25 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle overtaking him for the top slot. Jared McCain (from No. 16 to No. 3) and Jaylen Wells (from No. 39 to No. 9) are the biggest risers in the top 10, while Ajay Mitchell jumped from No. 38 to No. 12.